Pork Chops with Gooseberry and Sage Sauce

I was very excited last week to find gooseberries in the greengrocer , I used to eat so many unripe gooseberries from my grans garden they gave me tummy ache. When I finally learnt some patiences and they ripend I love the sensation of them popping in my mouth and over my chin,  sour and sweet.

I was trying to think what to do with them Gooseberry , crumble or fool is a classic.  But I had a thought spring recipes were bursting with pork and rhubarb recipes exclaiming the delights of fatty fatty pork and the acidity of rhubarb. A recent convert to the delights of speedy pork chops for dinner,  I wondered if the same could be said for tart gooseberries. Of a quick google showed it wasn’t an original thought Gooseberry sauce is also good with Mackerel and Duck Breast  too so I thought I would be onto a good thing.

The result combining gooseberry with leaves from our rampant sage plants was delcious and fantastic with pork chops, I will be playing around with this recipe and perhaps trying it with some mackerel if we get near the seaside this year. Sadly it photographs a bit like snot but you cannot have everything.

Gooseberry and Sage Sauce

200g of gooseberries
50ml of water
1 heaped tbsp of sugar
1 handful of fresh sage
Salt and Pepper

1. Bring the gooseberries to a gentle simmer in the water
2. Add the sugar and sage and cook for 5 minutes until the gooseberries have broken down
3. Taste but makes sure you blow on the sauce boiling fruit can do serious damage to your tastebuds add more sugar if it is too sour
4. Season with a little salt and pepper

Pork Chops
Season the pork chops well with salt and pepper
Place under a medium grill for 10 minutes or so turning once
Allow to rest for a few minutes before serving with the sauce

BBQ Rib of Beef with new potato & broad bean salad with homemade mayonnaise

I don’t buy meat from the supermarket with great local butchers near my work and close to home and the sadness that usually descends when I look at all the plastic packaged meat in the supermarket.  However  yesterday I did pop into the mecca of shopping for a few bits and pieces .  I did a little swing by the reduced meat section and was surprised  there looking forlorn amongst all the reduced breaded chicken ,a 28day organic aged rib of beef  reduced from £14 to £7.

I scooped it up feeling a little like a shoplifter and stole away to the checkout, managing to forget the washing up liquid I had gone in for .  All Saturday I kept looking up at the sky one second cloudy,then it rained ,then finally the sun and swallows came out. Sun meant I could BBQ the rib (beginning to sound like  a stalker but the idea came from Dinner Diary)

After seasoning the meat well with salt and pepper , it cooked over hot coals for around 25 minutes, turning several times. A water mister sprayed every so often over the coals stops the dripping fat from flaring up and scorching the meat. After cooking I left the meat to rest for twenty minutes covered in foil,  I think resting is very important especially for BBQ or roasted meat , if you have ever struggled with carving resting is the answer.

The result of BBQ and resting was a caramelized outer layer  circling mouth meltingly sweet meat oozing with flavour. This picture shows just half of the meat,  it carved like butter and we only have leftovers due to incredible restraint on my part.

Was debating what to rest the beef with, serendipitously Mark Hix in the Independent was extolling the virtues of homemade mayonnaise . Loving so many of Mark Hixs’ seasonal recipes,  his seasonal cookery book recently won Guild of Food Writers award for Cookery Book of the Year).

I am now a happy convert to making my own mayonnaise ,  using a food processor made it very easy  the recipe is available here) but be  warned it made a good 300ml of mayoniase which will keep us going for a while.

I thought it might be too much just to dip the meat in mayonnaise (though it did happen) so had mixed together a nice seasonal salad of new potatoes ,broad bean & salad onions dressed with lashings of mayonnaise. Perfect summer food

Seasonal Salads , Pearl Barley , Brown Rice and Bean

 

I wasn’t surprised by the news that many mayonnaise based supermarket salads contain more fat than a big Mac . They never look particularly appetising .Salads should be fresh flavours , seasonal vegetables , herbs,  grains , pulses. I always think there will be some left for lunch the next day but damn if the bowl isn’t always scrapped clean.
The following dishes all serve two very greedy people.

Barley and Courgette Salad

I recently saw pearly barley in salad referred to as wheatberries it doesn’t  have  a lot of inherent flavour but and lovely chewy textures it’s is definitely worth trying with dressings of lemon or balsamic vinegar. Served above with salmon but also would work well with grilled chicken or lamb.

150g of Pearl Barley simmered in boiling water for 1 hour
4 small courgettes steam and chopped into small 1/2 cm pieces
2 tbsp of freshley chopped parsley
2 tbsp of Preserved Lemon
1 tsp of Poppy Seeds
Juice and zest of half a lemon
Salt and Pepper

Brown Rice and Smoked Mackerel Salad

Brown rice is nutty and delicious better than more expensive wild rice . This is almost a kedgeree salad , with plenty of crunchy vegetables , and smoky fish.

150g of brown rice
3 fillets of Smoked Mackerel
1 red pepper
1salad onion finely chopped
1 heaped tbsp of capers
2 heaped tbsp of black olives
2 heaped tbsp of fresh parsley finely chopped
2 tbsp of olive oil
1tbsp of balsamic vinegar
Salt and Pepper

Tuna Bean Salad

This is a classic and shortly will get even better with french beans straight from the garden .

200g of dried beans ( kidney , chick pea , turtle beans) soaked overnight and simmered for 50 minutes
150g tin of tuna
1 tbsp of capers
2 tbsp of black olives
2 spring onions finely chopped
Dressing , 2 tbsp of balsamic vinegar , 1 tbsp of olive oil , 1 tsp wholegrain mustard Salt and Pepper

Birthday Burgers

When the lovely boyfriend asked me what I wanted for my birthday dinner,  I think he was a bit surprised when I said burgers. I blame the bloggers some of my favourite food bloggers (Antics of Cylcing Cook & Dinner Diary ) have been making lovely burgers recently a  mix of colourful garnishes,  melting cheese or crispy onions.

Despite my penchant for all things BBQ, we haven’t managed to get round to making to having burgers, yep kebabs, grilled fish ,  steaks , asparagus but not BBQ, I not sure why I know it is really easy , when I was little we never had McDonalds we had McMummy, homemade burgers in homemade rolls.

I even sent a tweet out asking people for their hint and tips on their burgers to help in out. I was busy all day on my birthdaygot home at 8pm  to find the BBQ lit , burgers resting in the fridge and a bread dough ready made for home-made buns. I insisted on being allowed to  make the buns before I was relegated to the garden with a glass of Cava.

Burger Garnishes

For me burgers are a lot about the garnishes plenty of spicy
horseradish and gerkins and admittedly a gentle dousing of ketchup so
much garnish that the burgers were about three inches high

Red Onion

Sliced Beef Tomatoes

Lettuce

Horseradish Sauce

Gerkins

Sliced Matured Cheddar

Ketchup

Beckys Birthday Burgers

500g of Derbyshire Beef minced
1 large salad (spring) onion finely chopped
1 tsp of wholegrain mustard
1 tbsp of chopped parsley
Salt & Pepper

1. Combine all the ingredients
2. Divide the mixture into 4 and shape into burgers
3. Refridgerate for at least half an hour
4. Grill on the BBQ or under a hot grill for 4 minutes on each side

Burger Bun Recipe ( from all recipes)

cheated by throwing it into the bread maker to knead but the full recipe is pretty simple and they take just 15 minutes to bake once the dough has proved etc.
I add some fennel and poppy seeds to top of the bun.

Lamb Shanks in White Wine and White Beans

A very relaxing day being a cat, I had a proper lie in and then padded around the house stretching and settling. Listening to the bees buzz and birds sing.   I found some lamb shanks in the freezer and was thinking it wasn’t a season for casserole, but I found a few recipes where they could be cooked in white wine. This long slow cook resulted in melt in the mouth meat and beans dissolving into a roasted vegetablesauce that cried out to be mopped with some crusty bread.

Lamb Shanks in White Wine and White Beans

2 Lamb Shanks
200g of dried mixed white beans , butter beans , flagolet &  haricot beans
100g of fresh tomatoes roughly chopped
300ml of white wine
1 large onion finely sliced
3 cloves of garlic finely chopped
Handful of fresh thyme and oregano
1 tbsp of olive oil

1. Soak the beans for at least 12 hours in water.
2. Season the lamb shanks with salt and pepper.
3. Heat the oven oil in a cast iron casserole dish.
4. Add the lamb shanks and brown on each side
5. Add the onions , garlic , beans, tomatoes , herbs and white wine
6. Bring to a simmer , cover and place in the oven at 160degC for at least 2 hours.

Sardines with Fregula Sarda Salad

The weather cannot quite decide,  if its being hot or cold but this was a dish for one of the warmer evenings.  I bought a very large bag of fregula sarda a Sardinian cous cous .Larger than the more common morrocan cous cous, which until a few years ago I thought was a grain . Cous Cous is made by  rubbing wet semolina wheat into little balls which are dried then toasted. I have been looking for this pasta for a while and I was delighted to find a massive bag for sale at the Continental Market which is being held on Fridays in Lower Marsh Market

Fregula sarda is lovely in soup like pearl barley or another small pasta orzo  but I wanted to try it in a summery salad , it needs boiling rather than soaking like normal cous cous a few minutes in a pan of salted water. You can then add a a range of delicious ingredients .

Grilled Sardines

1. Slash the sardines , season with salt and pepper and brush with a little oil
2. Grill for a few minutes either side under a hot grill or on the BBQ
3. Serve with a squeeze of lemon

Fregula Sarda Salad

200g of Fregula Sarda ( Italian Cous Cous)
1 tbsp of preseved lemon finely chopped
1 medium avocado , chopped into 1cm peices
100g of broad beans removed from the pods
3 tbsp of sundried tomatoes , finely chopped
1 handful of fresh parsley roughly chopped
Twist of pepper
1 tbsp of olive oil

1. Simmer the fregula sarda in a pan of salted boiling water for 5 minutes.
2. Steam the broad beans over the top of the water once cooked peel the broad beans.
3. Once the fregola is cooked rinse it in cold water and peel the broad beans
4. Mix in the preserved lemon , tomatoes , broad beans , parsley
5. Season with pepper and a slosh of olive oil.

Home , Heart , Homegrown and Homemade

Last week I was tagged by Wendy at A Wee Bit of Cooking on the subject of home with a meme for  Refugee Week 2009.  The campaign aims to raise awareness of refugees’ contributions to society through a wide range of cultural and educational programmes nationwide. Inspired by the the Simple Acts campaign encouraging people to do one little thing to understand the experience of being an exile a little better Wendy has provided a  meme  ,  “What Does Home Mean to You?” with the challenge post three photos which represent “home” to you and write a little about each one , check out her post here

Home is where the heart is

They say home is where the heart is and thats even more true recently for me.  Nick and I have been together for a couple of years,  commuting back and forth weekends between eachothers respective homes in the South West and Derbyshire.  One Sunday a few months ago as the usual sadness at leaving settled in , packing my clothes up.  I finally said enough and committed to making his home mine.

Homegrown

One of the most positive things about leaving my small studio flat in the centre of Bristol is  having a garden. Which for me is an increasingly big part of home . I had brought seeds from my previous gardens , now scattered around the edible poppies & nasturtiums are coming into flower , we have also dug a vege-patch so increasingly we will be eating home-grown

Homemade

Well this is a foodblog after all for my mum and step-dads were visit this weekend .  I wanted to make something of a tribute to my new home in Derbyshire , Bakewell Tart. This dish was supposedly created by accident when an inexperienced cook was making a jam tart and forgot to put the almond egg mix into the pastry  Not sure I believe the story but it’s a delicious tart reminiscent of a frangipane or even tart au citron.

Bakewell Tart.

Pastry

125g plain flour
75g unsalted butter , cold and diced
25g caster sugar
1 egg yolk and white seperated

Filling

3 heaped tbsp cherry jam
150g unsalted butter , at room temperature
150g caster sugar
3 eggs , beaten
150g ground almonds
lemon , zested

1. To make the pastry tip the flour, butter and sugar into a food processor .  Whiz until the mixture resembles breadcrumbs.
2. Add the egg yolk and 1 tsp of cold water,  pulse until the dough comes together.
3. Cover and chill for 30mins.
4.  Roll out the pastry to 3mm thickness.
5. Line a 20cm fluted tart tin with a depth of 31/2 cm. Prick the base with a fork. Heat the oven to 180degC.
6. Line the pastry case with baking parchment . Cook for about 20 minutes til the pastry is a pale golden colour.
7. Spread the jam in an even layer over the base of the pastry case.
8. Cream together the butter and caster sugar, add the beaten eggs and egg yolk. Fold in the ground almonds and lemon zest.
9. Spoon the mixture over the jam and spread level. Bake for 20 minutes. Scatter with the flaked almonds and continue to cook for a further 15-20 minutes until golden and set.
10. Cool to room temperature, dust with icing sugar and serve with pouring cream or custard.

I am tagging

• Anne at Annes Kitchen
• Jules Domestic Goddess in Training
• Stephen and Kerri at Dinner Diary

All of these blog for me a have a real sense of food and home if you want to have a go  The rules are quite simple:

• Think about what home means to you.
• Titled “What Does Home Mean to You?”, post three photos which represent “home” to you and write a little about each one. 
• Include a link to the Refugee Week website: http://www.refugeeweek.org.uk
• Tag five others to do the same ( sorry I have managed three)

Summer Pickles

I am totally addicted to pickles,  there is nothing that can’t be significantly improved by the addition of a layer of spicy- sweet goodness, cheese , ham , even fish benefits from a few slices of gerkins or capers, ( if you dare risk tuna in the current furore I can reccomend tuna and gerkin sandwiches).  The whole top shelf of the fridge is devoted to a range of pickles and chutneys picked up from stall and shops, even outside houses.

Despite my addiction I have never tried making my own and pickle or chutneys. They do provide an excellent was of preserving bumper vegetables crops , so in preparation for our summer harvest , I spent last weekends rainstorm making pickles from the vegebox leftovers.

First I tried  indian Brinjal (Aubergine) Pickle, this is a recipe from Mamta’s Kitchen which is a fantastic source of easy to follow indian recipes.

Second a picalilli , this for me is luridly delicious, you can use any vegetables though cauliflower and green beans are a classic combination, I went for cauliflower and a cucumber , no beans on plants yet. Many of the recipes I read called for salting the vegetables first , but the recipe did not suffer from skipping this step

These pickles go there outing just a  week after making  when yesterday my mum & step-dad stopped by on their way back from holidays in Northumberland .  After
hours stuck in traffic jams we ate  in gorgeous sunshine . The pickles makng  perfect accomaniment to some home-boiled ham, , hunks of homemade bread, and biting mature cheddar, even a few pickled onions for extra pickliness.

I will definitely making more home-made preserves just need a few more gallons of vinegar and pounds of sugar

Picalili

300g cauliflower florets
1 large white onion finely chopped
150g of cucumber diced

Spiced Vinegar
500ml malt vinegar
2 tbsp of mustard seeds

Sauce

25g plain flour
1tbsp english mustard powder
½ tbsp turmeric, or to taste
2 tsp ground ginger
3 tbsp malt vinegar

Method

1. Cut the vegetables into 1cm pieces
2. Put the vinegar and mustard seeds into a stainless steel saucepan, bring just to boiling point, lower the heat, cover the pan and simmer gently for 10-15 minutes; allow to cool.
3. Mix together the flour, mustard powder, turmeric and ginger in a good sized basin, add the three tablespoons vinegar, stir to make a smooth paste. Pour the spiced vinegar over the ingredients, make sure the mixture is smooth.
4. Pour into a large saucepan and stir over a low heat until as thick enough to coat the back of a wooden spoon without running off.
5. Add to the thickened sauce. When this has reached simmering point simmer for one minute only, so the small pieces keep a good shape and texture.
6.  To bottle spoon into hot sterilized jars and cover.
   

New Potato , Asparagus , Bacon & Duck Egg Warm Salad

There are so many delicious new potatoes around this spring and to end this spring salad the  last of the asparagus , the season which  is apparently  ending early this year, both of these are delicious warm with a vinegary dressing

I could not resist a dozen Ducks egg from Nottingham Market , ever so slightly blue they have thicker shells than chicken eggs in texture they are creamier. Soft boiled eggs are delicious with asparagus soldiers but here bulked up with salty  bacon and black pudding left over from the boyfriends weekend grill up.

A final gentle nod to a classic salad with a selection from the garden crop exploding after all the weekend rain

New Potatoes , Asparagus , Bacon & Duck Egg Salad

2 duck eggs
6 spears of asparagus
2 rashers of bacon
2 handfuls of new potatoes
a few handfuls of Salad Leaves

1. Bring the potatoes to the boil
2. Add the duck eggs for the last three minutes
3. Slice each bacon rasher into three wrap it around the asparagus
4. Grill the asparagus and black pudding until cooked
5. Mix the potatoes with the salad leaves lay over the eggs , potatoes and asparagus
6. Dress

Dressing
4 tbsp of balsamic vinegar
1tbsp of olive oil
1 tsp of honey
1tsp of wholegrain mustard
Twist of black pepper